This invention relates to new and useful improvements in crop catching floors for harvesting machines.
Harvesting machines heretofore employed have used upper crop removing mechanism, such as shaker apparatus, arranged to straddle vines and the like for loosening the crop articles therefrom. These machines employ catching floors below the crop removing means to catch the crop articles falling by gravity. One type of floor that is used which will move through the trunk portion of the vines as the machine straddles the vines includes a plurality of pivotal, overlapping metal plates extending inwardly from each side. Applicants have found that these metal type plates have inherent disadvantages. One such disadvantage is that crop articles are frequently damaged because of the hard surface presented by the metal. Another disadvantage is that these metal plates damage the trunks of the vines as they thread past the vines. Furthermore, the overlapping plates due to their thick edges not only damage the crop articles as they pivot around the trunks of the vines but also they push crop articles off at their angled edges.